Bittersweet
by HelloPeoplePersonz
Summary: Tony and Ziva knew each other before NCIS. Ziva runs away from him after a little problem, but Tony doesn't know what it is... Until Ziva comes back from halfway around the world, this time with a little girl. TIVA McAbby if you squint, and in my version Director Shepard never died. Rated T for suggestive themes and swearing. R&R!
1. Bread In The Microwave

_**A/N There is no word in the English language to express how sorry I am for not updating. If you don't know what I mean, go visit the profile page that I lost the password to, HelloPeoplePersons. I wrote the first chapter a long time ago and posted it there, and then forgot my password. I had this all typed up before but it deleted. I am sooooo sorry. My story The Facebook Page will not be continued.**_

_**Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own.**_

_Bread in the microwave. Bread in the microwave._ What did it mean? Tony DiNozzo sat at his desk, his head in his hands.

It was the 7 year anniversary of his marriage to Ziva. She had left soon after the honeymoon to Paris, without a single word why. Except for the words bread in the microwave, written on a slip of paper and placed on his bedside table along with her rings.

He had not taken his off the chain around his neck since, and had told the team that he was still hooking up with other beach blond college girls to avoid teasing. So that day, as he sat trying to think of what the hell bread in the microwave meant, he had a hallucination, much like the ones the entire team had been having since Kate had died a week before.

"I need to see Gibbs," Hallucination-Ziva said, not looking at him.

He decided to play along; the hallucination might go away. "How do you know I'm not Gibbs?

She looked at him then, and her face was pale. She tried to let out a breathy laugh to cover up her surprise. "You are not Gibbs."

Tony's previous hallucinations of Ziva had never spoken to him, just wandered around whispering _Bread in the microwave,_ over and over again. He realized it wasn't a hallucination, not at all.

He got up and walked to the men's bathroom, hoping she would follow. He knew she would.

"What the hell does that even mean? Bread in the microwave! I checked the microwave, the bread box. I couldn't find anything! And now you come waltzing back. And on our anniversary!" Tony was angry.

"I am sorry. I had to leave. And my father had told me to tell no one where I was going. I left that note as a clue." Ziva said, tears streaming down her cheeks. She sank down to sit against the wall and put her head on her knees. "It meant that I was pregnant. I must have messed up the idiom or something."

"Oh."

"Now I need to talk to Gibbs. We will settle this later." Tony got up and left the room, leaving Ziva to clean up.

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Ziva quickened her pace, knowing Gibbs would be angry if she was any later. She took the elevator to the bullpen's floor and hurried in. Tony was doing work and a geeky looking man was typing away on his computer. This time she went to him to ask about Gibbs.

"I am here to see Gibbs," she said to him.

"He's in the new director's office. You can wait for him in the empty desk. I'm Tim McGee by the way." He stuck his hand out for her to shake.

"Hello." She shook his hand and sat in the desk across from Tony.

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Ziva whispered something in Gibbs ear about her liason position. They left the bullpen without another word.

They went to Director Shepard's office, and Gibbs went to introduce them. "We've already met. We were partners in Cairo and she saved my life a number of times," Jenny piped up, and then stepped forward to kiss Ziva on both cheeks.

"So, Ziva. How's Nataliya?" she asked her friend.

Ziva slightly reddened. "She is okay, thank you."

Gibbs, seeing that they didn't need him anymore, left the room to get some more coffee.

"Have you told Tony yet?"

"I have told him that I was pregnant, but have not told him anything else. I came here today to inform you that my father has approved of the liaison position and will be starting on Monday of next week."

"That's fine, and also you should really tell him soon."

"I am planning to invite him to my new apartment to help with moving in and then talking to him afterward," Ziva told her.

"Okay. You should go see McGee to help you with setting up the computer, and Gibbs for setting up things on your desk. Tony you do not need to speak to. They will help you with anything you may need help with."

"Thank you Jen." Ziva left her office to go find McGee. He helped her set up and got Gibbs, who also helped her and gave her an NCIS cap with a 9 mm hole in the visor.

That day was her first case, an all-nighter. Tony never got to go to her house that night.


	2. Nataliya

_**A/N: I know I make too many excuses for not updating, but this one is real, I promise. I was on vacation to Mexico (3) for all of Xmas break, and I was sick for a week afterward. Check out the poll on my profile for this story! Now, to the story!**_

_**Disclaimer: Of course, I totally own NCIS. I am Donald Belisario and not a teenage girl. Yeah right.**_

Ziva quickly hurried home the morning after the all night case, hoping to clean up, pick Nataliya up from Ziva's good friend's house, and call Tony.

So she showered, picked Nataliya up (it was 2 AM, so she had to carry the half asleep redheaded 6 year old girl to the car), and called Tony, knowing he was awake and preparing for the worst when she showed him his daughter for the first time.

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Tony was just finishing watching a movie (Yeah, stereotypical, I know, but I'm tired I just got back to school after spending a week doing absolutely nothing) when his phone rang, a ringtone he hadn't heard for about 7 years. Ziva's ringtone. It was the song they danced to on their wedding night, God Gave me You by Blake Shelton (My friend's parents just got married and they danced to this… It was kinda cute).

He answered the phone and found Ziva on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hello, Tony, I was wondering… Since you couldn't come over last night… Can you come over?"

Tony half-smiled at how cute she sounded, like a girl asking a boy out for the first time. _Stop, you can't think like that DiNozzo. She probably doesn't even love you anymore. _"Sure," he ended up replying. "See ya soon. Address?"

Ziva gave him her new address, bid farewell, and hung up the phone, taking a deep breath and leaning against the wall. That was the most difficult conversation of her life. More difficult than when she'd denied her father the time when he almost made her get an abortion, and the time when she'd had to deny him again when he'd wanted her to resort to killing a pregnant teenage girl to be an official MOSSAD agent…

She lost track of time she'd been standing there, thinking, when the door opened.

"Hey…" Tony said, pausing, his eyes surveying the apartment. An open wall led to a kitchen area that was off of the room they were in, which was the living room. The living room had a door leading to what looked like a hallway.

"I need help with getting my furniture in," Ziva said, gesturing to the bare wood floor and getting right to the point.

They worked until about 6:30, for four hours. By the end of that time, Tony was resting in the couch he'd just set down, while Ziva was waking Nataliya up.

Ziva carried a still half asleep girl and sat on the brown leather armchair across from the couch he was resting on, waiting for him to open his eyes.

He finally did, hearing Nataliya shift in her mother's lap. "Tony, this is Nataliya. She is your daughter."

Nat's POV

This man was my father? He looked nothing like me! I turned toward him, a look of shock on my face. Well, maybe he looked like me a little. The reddish brown hair, the sparkling eyes, the shape of our eyes… Just about everything except for gender and eye color.

Tony's POV

This girl was my daughter? I mean, I already knew that, but seeing her just made it more real. Ziva had left me. Because she was pregnant. With this girl. And she looked exactly like me. And I mean exactly. Same eyes, except for the color; same hair, except for the length; same jawline; same everything.

"Hi." I said slowly, glancing at Ziva. Her eyes were trained on my face. She quickly looked away, embarrassed, but I kept staring at that perfect face, the woman I had been missing out on for all those years. Her possessiveness toward Nataliya, how she didn't allow her eyes to leave her daughter for more than a minute, probably because of the loss of a little girl she loved earlier in her life.

Her eyes flicked toward mine, and the gaze held.

"I'm going to go now…" Nataliya piped up about a minute later, so witty for a girl her age, probably inherited from me. I suddenly burst out laughing.

Ziva's POV

God, how hard it was to tear my gaze away from his. Those captivating eyes I had missed out on all those years I hid away from my father, who had wanted me back to Isreal. But, in the end, I'd have to.

So when Nataliya said that she was going to go, I was relieved that I had an excuse to avoid an awkward moment. So I laughed when Tony laughed, and afterward we pretended that nothing had happened. But something had happened, and I needed to do something about the longing for him I still felt inside.


	3. At The Bars

_**A/N: I have way too much shit to do, so sorry if I don't update for a while.**_

_**Disclaimer: Dare I say it. I do not own NCIS (silent tears streaming down my cheeks).**_

Ziva's POV

Tony was gone. Nataliya was sleeping. Only Ziva sat at the bar in her kitchen with a glass of wine, thinking about him. His laugh, his smile, his disbelief at suddenly having a daughter. She had missed him, she knew that much, but she thought she would be over him by now. She almost was. But her actually being there with him was all too much. She still loved him. She had hoped he would have moved on from NCIS by now, but, just her luck, her father had sent her to liaison at NCIS, the very building he worked.

She sat at the bar until midnight. Thinking about Tony DiNozzo.

Tony's POV

He sat at the bar with a beer, thinking about her. Her laugh, her smile, and her—their—daughter. He didn't even know what to call her, family wise. He'd missed her more than he believed he did before she came back. Every time she walked into the damn room he wanted to… He didn't know. Kiss her, hug her, punch her, ask her out, propose again, things he would rather not think about in the middle of a bar… He wished. But she didn't love him anymore.

He sat at the bar until midnight. Thinking about Ziva David.

Gibbs' POV

Gibbs sat in his basement with his bourbon and sander, thinking about Tony. He'd seemed distracted lately, and it had to do with the new girl. Ziva. He had been glancing at her from across the bullpen, and sometimes she would glance back and their eyes would meet. They would both look away, but Tony would look again soon after. He had suspected in the beginning that he didn't like her because he thought she was replacing Kate, but he was glancing at her too often. It reminded him of a high school crush. This led him to the idea that he wanted to get her in his bed, but knowing DiNozzo he already would have. Even the famous "Gibbs' gut" couldn't figure this one out.

So Gibbs sanded his boat and drank his bourbon until midnight, before deciding to get up and go to DiNozzo's house, regardless if he was sleeping or not.

Tony's House

Tony got home from the bar at around 1215, not quite drunk as a skunk. Or drunk as a squirrel as Ziva would probably say. Even as alcohol clouded his thoughts Tony did not fall asleep. He lay on his couch for a few minutes before he heard a knock on his door. Who could be here at this time of night? Ziva he hoped.

But no, it was the Boss. "Hey… uh… Boss. What're you doing here?"

"Open the door DiNozzo."

Tony opened the door wider and Gibbs pushed passed him.

"I wanna talk about Ziva."

Tony's mind was flipping upside down, but he tried to remain nonchalant. "What about her?"

"You've seemed distracted lately and I think she's the reason. You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Oh, so he didn't know about them. "Nothing Boss."

"Don't gimme that. I know something's off and it has to do with her. You're telling me one way or the other."

"Ok… So… Um… We kind of… Dated… A while ago…" Tony struggled to get it out without telling his Boss the whole story.

Gibbs got up and left the apartment.

Ziva's POV

The Next Day

I sat down at my desk, ready for another day of bullets and death. It is not like I was not used to that, but I was anxious to get home to avoid an awkward moment.

Tony got to work later than usual, looking worn out and sporting circles under his eyes. I did not notice when McGee walked in. As always, Gibbs walked in with black coffee in his hand yelling, "Gear up!"

I was confused of what to do, but Tony tossed me a bag without looking at me. I tried to tease him, "Your throwing skills have gotten better," but he didn't reply.

Even more confused, I threw the bag over my shoulder and headed to the elevator.


	4. The Cuteness That is Nataliya

_**A/N: I started this the same day as I updated the last chapter… Thank you soooo much to all the reviewers and followers and favoriters! I love you! BTW if I get any facts wrong feel free to correct me because I don't do research… The mistakes are all mine. And OMG I have like 2,00 views! Thanks so much! :O**_

_**Disclaimer: No ownage.**_

Tony's POV

We climbed into the government issued jet black car. McGee called shotgun first for once, but only because I was distracted. Ziva and I had to sit in the back. Squished together next to the equipment. Thighs touching. Close enough that if we turned toward each other we'd be mashed together.

I decided to take a risk. I leaned over just a little bit to whisper in her ear. "Gibbs knows." I felt her tense next to me.

"How?" she whispered back. Her breath tickled my ear.

"Last night he came to my house in the middle of the night and asked me why I've been distracted. I tried to lie but he said he knew it was about… you." I paused. "I told him we dated because that's technically not a lie." I finished just as the car pulled onto a pebbly road in the middle of woods.

It stopped at a gruesome scene. A ripped Marine's uniform lay on a big rock, as if placed there to dry. But the reality was much worse. The Marine himself was tied up with a sheet supplied by NCIS covering his probably naked body. There were angry red marks on the visible body parts.

McGee was complaining about having to lift the sheet to take pictures of the body, while I was bagging and tagging. Ziva was doing part of McGee's job for him, taking a fingerprint.

"Gibbs!" she said when she read the results. "There is no match in the naval database!"

McGee, having finished taking pictures, grabbed the dead man's finger to try it again, thinking she did it wrong, but then he noticed something.

"Boss! The body's skin was melted on his finger. All of his fingers. That's probably so we wouldn't be able to get a print, but we can get DNA, so that doesn't really make a difference, unless the killer needed the delay for something." McKnowItAll assumed.

"Then we better finish up and get this fellow here back to autopsy quickly," Ducky piped up from examining a large bump on the man's head.

Ziva's POV

Nataliya was still at day care after I got home from work. We had not solved the case, but we had found out that the body's name was Lance Corporal James Matson. He had several connections to the CIA. His ex-wife's father was an agent and his brother was convicted by his father in law, leading him to divorce (which led to a comment from Tony "The wife did it."). He stayed at the office.

So when I got home I didn't expect him to get out of his car at the same time as I got out of mine. When he saw me he smiled. "Hey Ziva," he said in that sarcastic voice I lov—recognized.

"Why are you here?" I asked, getting right to the end. The grab? The point?

He looked at a sign nearby that said "NO PETS ALLOWED," and quickly came up with an almost certain lie. "I was looking at a vacant apartment for a buddy of mine. He has a dog so he wanted a building that allowed pets. Guess this isn't right. Bye."

He got into his car, leaving me to not have been able to get a word in pointwise. Gabwise? Edgewise? As Tony often says, whatever.

I picked Nataliya up from Old Apple Tree Daycare and went shopping with her so we could start on decorating her new room.

Nataliya's POV

"I want that one! No that one!" Mommy held up two different pictures. One had a dog eating a bone on it, and one had a cute kitty curled up on a bed. I couldn't decide which one I wanted to hang above my bed.

"How about this one?" Mommy held up a painted wooden 'sign'. It had a purple background and letter N was in fancy white writing.

"That's PERFECT!" I grabbed it from Mommy's hand. She suddenly turned around and looked in the direction of the Men's area of the department store.

"Tony?" she called out. I recognized the man she had over earlier. My dad.

"Oh, hey." he said back to her.

"Would you mind coming over here and helping me get this thing off of this shelf?" Even Mommy, strong as she was, couldn't carry the sign on her own.

"Sure," the man (I had no idea what to call him) came over and helped Mommy lift the huge wooden sign into the bottom of the shopping cart.

Then, they got into one of their little trances again, staring into each other's eyes… Yadda Yadda Yadda.

"Man, that shopping cart sure is strong!" I interrupted that again, and the cart chose that moment to collapse on the man's foot.

_**BWAHAHA I left you with a little cliffy there! It's not like me to update once a day, but I've been having a lot of free time lately and this story is getting good. Also, ideas about how to transition into a relationship are welcome ;O. I have some ideas, but I could use some suggestions. Wow, this out of the blue meant-to-be-one-sentence kinda is getting long… I remind myself of Abby sometimes… I really do… Speaking of Abby… *lightbulb***_


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